Wagging Tails

Let's take the path down by Hallow Wood Way," Nancy pointed towards it with her white gloved hand. Her long wedding dress drug the ground as she walked. Her bag of candy was so full it was exploding with every step she took. She'd lose a few pieces of candy to the ground already.

"Are you daft?" Neil whined. He turned towards town holding his cowboy hat onto his head when a gust of wind suddenly appeared out of no where to claim it.

"No way," he nodded his head no, "witches case spells down there on Halloween night."

"Didn't anyone ever tell you about that?" Coyle asked. He'd already turned with Neil. His skeleton custom glowed a bright green in the darkness.

"I just moved here," Nancy supplied.

"You've been here long enough," Sally tossed in as she too started walking with Neil and Coyle. Her sneaks made squishing sounds in the mud she'd just step into and they danced with colors as she moved.

"Witches don't exist in today's world," Nancy assured them. "Only fools believe stupid stuff like that." More candy fell out of her basket but she never noticed.

Sally nodded her head. "Come on guys lets us stupid people," she pointed at the three of them, "not go trick-or-treating on Hollow Wood Way.

Other trick-or-treaters passed them by as they continued to walk away from the street. They started down the path. They didn't appear to be scared.

"I heard," one of the said to the other that that guy named George, didn't come home until after noon last year." The other nodded. "You can't believe everything you hear the other responded.

"See!" Nancy called out after them. She pointed in their direction. "They're going!"

Sally laughed.

Nancy kept talking, "and they know all about George."

They kept walking and finally Nancy gave in and stared walking with everyone else. She felt a little huffy. She knew she was right.

As they neared a street along the outskirts of the small village they heard someone calling.

"Hey! Everyone!" The kids who had ventured down Hollow Wood Way not long ago came into focus. "They are giving away double size candy bars!" They held out their hands to show all those nearby the size of the sweets.

"And what do you gotta do to get those?" Sally asked. She never believed anything was free not even on Halloween.

"Nothing!" Both boys assured her. "You just pick out the one you want!"

Everyone else who'd heard and saw what the boys said disappeared down the roadway. Everyone wanted a big candy bar like that.

"That's my favorite candy bar," Coyle exclaimed after he saw the candy bar the kid was holding. "I'm going!"

Neil whined but Coyle was his bestest friend so he trotted along with him a bit huffy but agreeable. "You're favorite candy is just candy. He remarked."

Coyle made no reply.

Nancy fell into step with them as she'd wanted to go anyway. Sally was just being stupid.

At first Sally kept heading away from them. But, not wanting to go trick-or-treating alone she finally caught up with them just as they started down the street.

As they walked along everyone noticed how bright and shiny it was at the end of the street. It looked like a party was going on. As they grew nearer music greeted their ears.

They started walking faster. "Who's having a party and didn't invite us?" Coyle inquired.

The entire town of trick-or-treater was in attendance. Everyone wanted those big candy bars and wanted to attend this party they knew nothing about.

Nancy picked up her pace. By this time her basket of candy was almost empty because her long dress kept causing it to spill as she spun around talking and walking. She didn't notice.

Coyle's greenish skeleton custom sparkled like a fire cracker in the dazzling lights. Neil's cowboy hat took wings and flew away with Neil chasing after it.

Everyone approached the witches who were standing near the door to the house where the party was going on. Just to the side of it under a big umbrella done up in sparkles and glitter. This umbrella covered A big pot of stew which could be seen boiling over an open very large fire. All three witches were stirring the brew with long wooden sticks.

Beside them was a huge box of chocolate bars.

"I think they have every brand on the market!" Nancy remarked as she approached them.

The first witch looked at her and held out the spoon she'd just dipped into the stew. The broth dripped from it and looked disgusting but it smelled like the tastiest candy she'd ever been offered. Without a second thought she opened her mouth and drank it in. Two seconds later a candy bar appeared in her hand. It was her favorite one.

Sally once again wasn't sure she was going to do that. Everyone who she saw with a candy bar seemed to be walking around like a zombie. She wanted no part of that.

Both Neil and Coyle were acting the same. They wondered off into the crowd where people were dancing and stalking around like fools. They each had a large chocolate bar in their hands.

The second witch who was standing near the candy bars motioned her forward. Sally refused to go. She instead started walking away from the party with the intentions of leaving all together.

But something happened. Before she knew what she was doing she'd accepted the spoon full of food and now carried a candy bar in her hand like everyone else. She felt faint. Like she was sleepy. She yawned...

The sun seemed bright she decided when she opened her eyes and realized she'd slept on the ground near the stew pot all night long. In fact the entire area was covered with kids from school. Every one of them had a candy bar in their hands and she gasped when she saw that each and every one of them had a long tail attached to their back sides.

"What just happened?" she asked herself. She looked down at the candy bar she was holding and tossed it to the ground. The candy inside the wrapper was moving and when it hit the ground worms crowded out and vanished into the soil beneath them.

Everyone else started to wake up now. None of them seemed to notice that the candy they held was just a wrapper with worms inside. None of the seemed to notice that they had tails.

"I bet it's just past noon," she assured herself and got up. That had to be the time. She brushed some of her hair away from her face and as she did that a fly flashed past her nose. Before she knew what she was doing she swatted it dead with her tail.

"Tail?" she gasped. Nancy, Coyle and Neil approached her swinging their tails around too. They all seemed lost in another world.

"I think we'd better head home," she told them. They all agreed.

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The next day school started bright and early. Everyone had to be in school. It didn't matter if they attended the party or not. It didn't matter if they had a tail or not. Sally sighed and went into her home room. Sat down in her assigned seat and watched as others entered too. and found her seat.

"Now," the teacher said, "I've heard about the tail problem." She nodded at the classroom. "I'd appreciate it if you'd all tuck them under your seat as they are causing a problem in the classroom." She reached out and caught a piece of paper flying around the room because of the wagging tails.

Everyone tucked their tails into their seats. "I hope those tails disappear before next Halloween," she remarked...